Swivel wet mop handle

ABSTRACT

The swivel wet mop handle is a combination of a handle and wet mop holder used in commercial applications to clean, wax and perform other operations on various floor surfaces.  
     By having two, connected parts of the handle, each part is able to move freely 360°, independent of the other part. The reduction of the resistance resulting from this design will reduce the possibility of repetitive motion injuries.  
     In the past, other efforts to reduce repetitive motion injuries to the wrists merely transferred the motion to another part of the body.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] 5,920,944 Jul. 13, 1999 Biggs, Blyth D411,673 Filed May 4, 1998 Biggs, Blyth

BACKGROUND

[0002] This invention pertains to the design of mop handles used in the process of wet mopping floors.

[0003] Originally, wet mops were constructed as a single piece, consisting of a handle with cotton mop strands attached around the bottom of the handle. Some portion of the cotton strands were always in contact with the floor as the mop was pushed across the surface of the floor by the user.

[0004] Subsequently, new (synthetic) materials were introduced to extend the life of the mop and allow for specialized applications. In addition, a new mop was designed in two pieces to create a detachable wet mop to allow for the re-use of the mop handle. This necessitated a change in the design of both handle and wet mop.

[0005] The mop could no longer be wrapped around the handle, but had to be attached to the handle with a flat machanism resulting in two sides to the wet mop. The wet strands were no longer free to spin 360°. In order to keep the wet mop strands flat on the floor while it is being used, the user must rotate his/her wrists to create a “figure 8” pattern. This movement of the wrists often results in repetitive motion injuries.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In the commercial cleaning business, wet mopping a floor can be very strenuous on the worker's wrists and lower back. The reason for this is that there is a lot of twisting and turning during this work (to keep the wet mop head flat on the floor) and most of the resistance in this operation is down at the bottom of the handle where the mop (cotton or synthetic) is attached to the handle.

[0007] This lower area needs to be free of resistance. In lessening the resistance, the worker will do less twisting and turning which will make using this tool much easier.

[0008] The solution is having the handle consist of two parts. One part is the top (longer) part that would connect to a shorter piece that is part of the wet mop head. While they are connected, the lower portion with wet mop head attached is free to spin 360°. The top handle will not turn at all in the workers hands. While this new wet mop handle will have no bearing on the way the wet mop is attached to the lower handle, it will lessen the strain on the worker's lower back and wrists.

DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 Original (traditional) design of wet mop. This is a single piece, with the handle permanently attached to the wet mop head, which is the cottom or synthetic strand material.

[0010]FIG. 2 New swivel wet mop design shows mop strands (C) attached to the lower portion of the mop handle (B), and lower portion attached to the longer, upper handle (A).

[0011]FIG. 3 New swivel wet mop design is shown in seperate parts. The upper handle (A) is shown seperated from the lower portion of the wet mop. This lower portion consists of some type of wet mop clamp or holder (B) and the wet mop itself (C). It is the lower portion (B) that swivels (turns) while it is attached to the handle.

[0012]FIG. 4

[0013] This figure shows the mop head (B) which is the clamp and wet mop strands, attached to the handle (A) and still able to turn 360°. 

1. What I claim as my invention is a mop handle that reduces resistance, and the resulting effort for the operator.
 2. I claim to have the only handle which swivels at the base of the handle.
 3. I claim to reduce the risk of repetitive motion injuries to the user, not merely transfer the effort from the wrists to another part of the body. 